Cobb County Cop, Firefighters Suspected of Steroid Use

One Cobb County police officer and five county firefighters are being investigated for using steroids without a prescription. Originally, only one Cobb County firefighter was being examined, but claims that others could also be using steroids led to the investigation’s expansion.

The status of each employee is as follows:Fire department employee for seven years, resignedFire department employee for 15 years, administrative leaveFire department employee for 22 years, remains on dutyFire department employee for 24 years, administrative leaveFire department employee for 26 years, administrative leavePolice department employee for seven years, resigned

The investigation began the week of May 20 and is expected to continue over the next several weeks. No criminal charges have been filed yet.

“We expect our employees to follow the rules, to set a positive example for those around them and to hold themselves to the highest standards of conduct both on and off duty,” Cobb County Manager David Hankerson told CBS Atlanta. “This investigation will let us know how these employees acted, and if they broke the rules.”

The following statement was released by the President of the Cobb Professional Firefighters Local 256 regarding the investigation:

“We have been informed of the recent allegations made against the Cobb Firefighters. At this time it is an ongoing investigation. We will not make any further statements until the investigation has be concluded.”

Reactions among Cobb County residents are mixed.

“They’re not doing it to make increases in their pay, where your professional athletes are doing it to keep their job or get more money for it. There is a difference there,” one resident, Bill Bailey, told CBS Atlanta. Bailey believed that the matter wasn’t particularly significant.

However, resident Denise Mortensen disagrees.

“If it’s a steroid, if it’s a banned product, it should be banned for everybody,” Mortensen told CBS Atlanta. “It should be across the board, whether it is a firefighter or a professional athlete. The penalty should be assessed for everybody in the same way.”